The FDA has approved a pegylated form of interferon beta-1a (Plegridy – Biogen) for biweekly treatment of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS).

The FDA has approved a second extended-release (ER) formulation of the oral opioid agonist hydrocodone (Hysingla ER – Purdue) for management of pain severe enough to require continuous long-term therapy and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate. Hysingla ER tablets have abuse-deterrent properties to discourage their misuse.

The FDA has approved naloxegol (Movantik – AstraZeneca), a pegylated derivative of the opioid antagonist naloxone, for oral treatment of opioid-induced constipation in adults with chronic noncancer pain. It is the only oral opioid antagonist approved for this indication in the US.

The FDA has approved Dyloject (Hospira), an IV formulation of the NSAID diclofenac sodium, for use in adults. It can be administered alone for treatment of mild to moderate pain or in combination with opioid analgesics for moderate to severe pain. Dyloject is the first injectable formulation of diclofenac to become available in the US.

The FDA has approved isavuconazonium sulfate (Cresemba – Astellas) for intravenous and oral treatment of invasive aspergillosis and invasive mucormycosis in adults. Isavuconazonium sulfate is a prodrug of isavuconazole, a broad-spectrum triazole antifungal.

The FDA has approved two new inhalers for long-term maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Seebri Neohaler (Novartis) contains the long-acting anticholinergic glycopyrrolate. Utibron Neohaler (Novartis) contains both glycopyrrolate and the long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist (LABA) indacaterol. Glycopyrrolate/indacaterol is the third fixed-dose combination of a long-acting anticholinergic and a LABA to become available in the US; umeclidinium/vilanterol (Anoro Ellipta) and tiotropium/olodaterol (Stiolto Respimat) were approved...

The FDA has approved the human interleukin (IL)-12 and -23 antagonist ustekinumab (Stelara – Janssen Biotech) for treatment of moderately to severely active Crohn's disease in adults who were intolerant of or whose disease was unresponsive to treatment with immunomodulators or corticosteroids, or a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor. Ustekinumab was approved earlier for treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

The FDA has approved the monoamine oxidase type B (MAO-B) inhibitor safinamide (Xadago – US Worldmeds) as an adjunct to levodopa/carbidopa for management of "off" episodes in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is the first reversible MAO-B inhibitor to be approved for this indication. Selegiline (Eldepryl, and others) and rasagiline (Azilect, and generics), two irreversible MAO-B inhibitors, have been used alone and as adjuncts to levodopa/carbidopa for many years. Safinamide is not approved for use as monotherapy.

The FDA has approved abemaciclib (Verzenio – Lilly), an oral cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor, for treatment of hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Abemaciclib is the third CDK 4/6 inhibitor to be approved in the US for this indication.

The FDA has approved benralizumab (Fasenra – AstraZeneca), a humanized monoclonal antibody selective for the interleukin-5 (IL-5) receptor, for add-on maintenance treatment of severe asthma in patients ≥12 years old with an eosinophilic phenotype. Benralizumab is the third anti-IL-5 antibody to be approved for treatment of severe eosinophilic asthma; mepolizumab (Nucala) and reslizumab (Cinqair), which target IL-5 itself, were approved earlier.